from cleric to cleric...

Well, yesterday was another Pathfinder RPG day down in Philly. Had a great time as always... however.. my character died. I was playing a cleric of Sarenrae (Goddess of the Sun)... and in perfect "bad omen" form... he died stumbling around in the dark. We were exploring a cave of a Medusa.. and only a few rooms in we encountered a room filled with Deeper Darkness, and none of us had enough powerful light spells to counter it... and this dark room was full of Grimlocks... I don't think further explanation is needed. I will say this... Jal Chavali (my character) probably had it coming.

No other character I have ever played has dropped to negative hitpoints more than this one. It took the DM quite a while to get the job done... our gnome sorcerer made a valiant attempt to save me.. he reached my body (mind you this is all happening in pitch blackness, during combat), and find my Wand (Cure Light Wounds). Though at this time at was at -8 HP. So he had two attempts to make his Use Magic Device roll... the DC was 20. He had a skill check of 10, so he had a 50/50 chance... and failed both times.

So now I need to create a new character. Since I was the cleric, and the only healer for the party, it seems I will need to fill that roll again. So my choices would be... Cleric, Paladin, Bard and Druid. I have ruled out Paladin, since there are many melee fighters in our party already (we have 2 Fighters, a Barbarian, and a Sorcerer) and I am leaning against Bard right now as well.. just don't have a good Bard idea at the moment. (and it also takes Bard's awhile before they become good healers). So that leaves Druid and Cleric. And in actuality.. I think I am just gonna go cleric.. but maybe multi-class a bit as Rogue. One of the main gods of Pathfinder is Desna, and she is the goddess of luck, Travel, Stars and Dreams. I thinking a Half-Elf who grew up in the city with his human family... the levels of Rogue represent his city life, and Cleric represents his chosen path... still have to hammer out the details...

Quick Post... here is a pic from our last Pathfinder game.. Dwarven Forge in action! It was certainly a worthwhile investment at GenCon. At the end of the tunnel a Barghest awaited...

Pathfinder RPG

If I did not like 4e... this would be my system of choice. Hands down the best version of 3.0-3.5-3.75 Dungeons and Dragons there is. This book comes out at GenCon... 576 pages!

Pathfinder

Ok.. just got back from Philadelphia and some great role-playing... playing in the Pathfinder RPG system.  A brief summation followed by some highlights...

We only get to play for about 6 hours.. so the story progresses slowly.. but we have a great time none the less.  We have been hunting an escaped fugitive who had been working with some local goblin tribes... we tracked the goblin to their fortress which was situated on a rocky-cliff island off the coast.  It towered 80ft up and was only reachable by a rope bridge that swayed precariously over the waters... getting to the bridge itself was a challenge due to a huge maze or brambles/thorns that the goblins used as a forward base/guard house protecting the bridge and entrance to the fortress.

Highlights:

• Maze of brambles patrolled by a Goblin Druid and his panther-like companion, he was playing hide-n-seek within the brambles, some entangling ensued...
• Reached Bride, took out some Goblin "snipers" with Wand of Produce Flame
• Crossing the bridge.. was actually a trap, one side fell away.. and of course.. my character fell.  When he hit the water he had 0 HP.. was able to Channel Positive Energy to Heal, but flailed around, my swim check was -6 at the time, until a rope was finally able to be lowered and I was pulled to safety... almost has to make a new character.
• Searched goblin fortress... found a pen of rabbits the goblins kept for food...our gnome talked to them and freed them to "run amok" in the fortress... lol... silly gnomes...
• We stopped to rest before reaching the fortress, calculated exp and got to 3rd level!  but our party, has a habit of NOT resting long enough for spellcasters to regain spells... (we have a cleric and sorcerer)
• Stumbled into the "throne room", lots of goblins, goblin war chief, goblin war singer, a couple goblin dogs, and a big lizard creature (war chief's mount)... big battle, but we had to stop there...
  

Up till now we had been playing a combination of Pathfinder and 3.5 DnD.. this adventure we switched fully over into Pathfinder.  Here's the big changes to clerics..

Turn Undead is now Channel Positive Energy.  Only usable a number of times per day = to your CHA modifier + 4... My 3rd Level cleric can do it 6 times per day.  30' Radius burst, all undead take 1d6 Dmg per 2 caster levels, and make Will save (CHA based) or flee, save can also half damage.  Any living creatures in the burst are healed the same amount.  Waaaay better than Turn Undead... simple, easy to understand, cool, and very useful.

Domains - You still pick two, but instead of providing you with an extra spell choice for each spell level you know, they provide specific bonus spells (as spell like abilities) or special powers.. I think they hit every 3 levels.. example, my cleric has the Sun and Glory domains:

• Touch of Glory -grants target a bonus to any CHA based check = to my caster level
• Shield of Faith 2/day
• Sun's Touch - Melee touch attack vs Undead, Damage = 1d8 + Caster Level
• Produce Flame 2/day

I get all of those powers/spells.. I don't pick and choose.. I get another power/spell from each domain at level 4, then at level 8.

Basically, they made all the character classes more varied, and took out any of the clunkier abilities.  Everyone has more options...which is a good thing.  :)

Clerical adventures

So adapting to a first level cleric took some time... only three 1st level spells?  really?  That's it?  I also am playing my character as a budding swordsman, so I spent a feat on the Scimitar prof., though he seemed to miss a lot... gotta love level one characters!

our group consists of a Rogue (kind of a jerk personality wise, and very much a thief), a Barbarian (very direct and straightforward), a Gnome Sorcerer (an interesting fellow) and me (cleric). We have another joining us next time (probably a fighter).

The story started with us arriving in the town of Sandpoint.  A big festival was underway to celebrate the building of  anew cathedral (the old one burned down 5 years ago)... the festivities were underway, leading up to the consecration of the cathedral at sundown.  But before that happened... goblins! Goblins are exceedingly cool in Pathfinder, they chant and sing while they attack, and are at times quite amusing.  :)  (and they are drawn by Wayne Reynolds)

We fought off one wave of goblins, but heard more singing further into town... we headed off to find the rest of the goblins.. these goblins were lighting things on fire.. and after another battle, we were then directed by some townsfolk toward another band of the little fiends... it was cool because they were each individual encounters, with slightly different situations, and strung one after the other, no time for rest in between.. which really added to the urgency of the situation... the last group had a goblin riding a "goblin dog," a nasty critter, and they had an aristocratic gentleman trapped..  our Gnome cast Sleep, sending a couple Goblins and the aristocrat to slumber land.. and we fought off the rest.. however the goblin dog took a bite out of me and dropping me to -4 hit points... I made my stabilize check (first try!) and after the goblins were subdued they drug me to the cathedral.  Long story short -- it turns out the goblins were only a distraction, and while we were running around the town feeding the chaos.. another group of goblins were digging up a grave from the cemetery.. they unearthed a priest who had died in the old cathedral fire.. why?  we don't know.  In the middle of meeting with the head cleric of the new cathedral, investigating the grave robbing, meeting the aristocrat for lunch (he wanted to thank us for saving him, and invite us to go hunting with him) we later ran into someone who asked us to investigate the disappearance of her employer, a local tavern owner.. this led us into the local glass works (run by the missing woman's family... in which we encountered another group of goblins, this time led by a half-elf.. who manged to pick at us from across the room with his bow...(and if it wasn't for my expert healing our gnome would have bit it) but we managed to subdue him, and our Barbarian almost cut him in half.. luckily we stabilized him for questioning... and this is where we called it quits for the evening.

A good time was had by all.. I can see it will take us some time to really "gel" as a group, but it looks like it will be a fun campaign.  :)

Back into the fold once more...

So tomorrow is our first DnD game.  Set in the world of Golarion (Pathfinder RPG, 3.5 DnD).  We should have 5 players, though one guy may miss this first game... I believe right now the character break down is Barbarian, Fighter(archer type), Rogue, Bard, and Cleric.  I am playing the Cleric.  This will be my first major foray into this class.. and I am looking forward to it... it should be different.  So here's some world history and some background for my character.

(italicized text is taken right from the campaign setting.  Which you can find here at Paizo.)

There are several distinct human "races" in Golarion; the one I chose is Varisian.  The easiest way to describe them is... gypsies.  They are nomadic, artistic, and carry a bad reputation.  Wanderers and nomads, Varisians travel the land in caravans, stopping only to put on their shows.  Show Varisians use their gregarious natures and dark good looks to swindle unfortunate marks; it is these few scalawags who give the Varisian people a bad name. Most other people respect the Varisians for their ancient traditions and vast knowledge, but distrust their motives. They often dress in colorful clothes, wear lots of jewelry, and are adorned by intricate tattoos.  They often follow the god Desna, the god of the stars, but pay homage to many of the realms gods often seeing them as angels who serve Desna.  They are at times (rare) born with "birth tattoos", birth marks but not in the normal sense. These birth tattoos bear little resemblance to conventional birthmarks. Most are extremely elaborate and multicolored...Varisians believe that birth tattoos indicate a profound destiny awaiting the marked child.

  

Jal Chavali.  My character is a cleric of Sarenrae, The Dawnflower, the Healing Flame, the Everlight.  She is a Neutral Good god, and the ancient enemy of Rovagug, The Rough Beast, God of wrath and distaster.  Her Domains and spheres of influence are: Fire, Sun, Good, Healing, Glory - goddess of the sun, redemption, honesty, healing.  Her clergy are known for being very gentle and kind, but such kindness vanishes when the church is stirred to action against evil that cannot be redeemed-- at such times, Sarenrae's clerics become dervishes, dancing among foes whilst allowing their scimitars to give their opponents final redemption." ... Swordplay, particularly with the scimitar, is held to be a form of art with her followers...  Religious art depicts the sun goddess as a strong woman with bronze skin and a mane of dancing flame.  While one hand holds the light of the sun, the other grasps a scimitar, so that she might smite those who do not change their ways.  The book has pictures of her clerics and they remind me a lot of  high level Blue Mages in FFXI (with all their gear on)(in appearance only, though not wearing blue, more whites/golds).  Anyway, I started out with Martial Weapon Prof: Scimitar as one of my feats.. to eventually build on the swordsmanship side of my clerical duties...  I took the Sun and Glory domains. Glory is new in Pathfinder, makes you better at Turn Undead and, holy crap, Holy Sword (from the paladin spell list) as 5th level domain spell... that will certainly help my scimitar skills...

Here is my write up on his background.

Jal was born into a varied and elaborate caravan of Varisians.  The Chavali clan was known for being widley travelled, and encompassing a wide array of professions and ideals.  Most deities were paid homage by the caravan, Desna for guidance in the evenings, Sarenrae for guidance during the day, and others when it was convenient or appropriate.  It was startling when Jal was born with a prominent "Birth Tattoo" of a sun, directly over his heart.  The elders of the caravan were never quite sure how to fully interpret its meaning, and left it up to his immediate family.  Jal's father, a very well travelled man, felt it was a sign of his purpose, that the Dawnflower had chosen him.  His mother, was less sure, feeling Desna was always meant to guide her and her family.  As time passed Jal learned what he could of all the gods, paying close attention to the stories of Sarenrae (at his father's urging). During his early teenage years the Chavali caravan, joined up with some other clans/caravans for a great festival, an exchange of stories/ideas/goods/people/bodily fluids among the caravans and this is where Jal's purpose was revealed to him.  The festival included a great many dances, elaborate and complex affairs that often held great prophetic wisdom to the families and ran from sunrise to sunset, and often into the night.  It was in this dance that he saw his fate revealed to him...  Many female dancers encircled a lone male dancer, and swirling scarves of yellow and crimson spiraled and danced in the air...Upon completion of the festival he departed the caravan to seek out a temple where he could truly understand his purpose.  The priests attending the small temple saw the his coming as a sign, and welcomed him in.. teaching him the ways of the Dawnflower, and instructing his in the ways of the sword.  He returned to his family when he deemed himself ready, and informed them of his new path... his mother remained distant and upset, feeling he had forsaken his bloodline and Desna.. but his father gave him his blessing.  Jal choose to then head out on his own once again to seek out the deeds Sarenrae had selected him to do... he chose to travel west as the sun travels across the sky.. eventually hitting the coast and having to change direction, he encountered many other travelers, all heading to Sandpoint for the upcoming festival.  He felt starting yet another journey with a festival was a good omen...

I am kind of playing him as conflicted somewhat.. culturally, he is veering from the societal worship of the Varisian people... following a different god than the norm, which has created a rift in his family.  But he feels his fate is to serve Sarenrae so he holds nothing back...

I will update after the game, maybe Monday night..